Elizabeth Cox (1) (1942–)

Too rarely a book comes along that totally pulls you into its pages to the point that it's hard to distinguish the story in the book from your real life. This is one of those special books. I walked along North Carolina roads with Jess and I mourned Adam's death with her. I am still thinking about these characters days after I read the last page and I know that this will be one of those books that I remember for a long time

When Jess's father remarries, his new wife brings her son into their show more home. Adam is mentally disabled and as his body matures, he starts getting into trouble because he is different. His mother feels that the only place he can live safely is in a state hospital where the doctors plan to lobotomize and castrate him. The book takes place in the early 1950s and this was still the approved method to control the mentally challenged in North Carolina. Jess is aware of the plans and is totally opposed because she knows the procedure will cause Adam to lose what makes him Adam. After Adam's death, Jess runs away from home looking for peace and acceptance.

The novel isn't just about love and family - it's about how society cares for its weakest members and how families form not just by birth but also out of love and concern for each other.

This is a powerful novel and one that definitely needs to be read and talked about. If I could, I would give it more than five stars!

Thanks to the publisher Story River Books for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.) show less

Slices of ordinary life told in painful, beautiful detail. Cox has great skill in capturing character nuance and depth. These stories may be short, but they call for time and focus to fully absorb and appreciate.

I enjoyed this book as a welcome distraction from my life at the moment. It's very beautifully written, with a sort of sense that as you read about each character it seems that the character is the most important one, the one the book is really about.

The story centres around a girl that gets attacked, and her boyfriend gets accused and arrested when she can't remember what happened. It's set in a small town, where everyone knows each other, but they actually don't, if you know what I mean. show more It reminded me of Twin Peaks, where everybody's got a secret, and the story looks like your classis 'whodunnit'. Where this story differs though, is that it offers real depth into the hearts of the characters, what they want with their lives, and how the attack of the girl gets them all inspired, so to speak, to tell the truth about who they are and what they want from life. show less

What an incredible story. I was drawn in from the very beginning taken by Jess immediately. What starts out as a struggle to blend to very different families quickly became a saga of grand proportions. As I drew closer to Jess and Adam I was triumphant, disturbed, empathetic, saddened and relieved. Nearly breathless as I wanted nothing more than to finish this book, I sighed a great sigh. I realized my journey had finally ended as did Jess and Adam's.